Vehicle/driver's License and Title question (Camas: transfer, neighborhood, school)

[supagyrl88]

Hi, I am confused. Someone told me that within 30 days I need to get a Washingon driver's license and change the title on my car to Washington, but I am only going to be there temporarily (a year max if that). Do any other out of staters know what I'm talking about? I don't want to go through all that and when I return do it again in California. I was told that the police in Washington "target" out of staters. is that true? what should I do?

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by supagyrl88

Hi, I am confused. Someone told me that within 30 days I need to get a Washingon driver's license and change the title on my car to Washington, but I am only going to be there temporarily (a year max if that). Do any other out of staters know what I'm talking about? I don't want to go through all that and when I return do it again in California. I was told that the police in Washington "target" out of staters. is that true? what should I do?

Yes, WA state definitely targets out-of-state vehicles to try and cut down on the cheaters who license their vehicles in other states to avoid paying their WA taxes.

If you reside in WA for 30 days or more you are legally required to get a WA state driver's license and have your vehicle licensed in WA. Even if you'll be there a year or less.

Yes, when you return to California, you'll have to do it all over again.

[cdelena]

I've done it in both states and it is not terrible... slower in California than Washington but still something that can be accomplished in a few hours.

[danco]

Hopefully I won't jinx myself.
I was in the same boat, rented in Hazel Dell for 6 months
( kept my CA. plates ), didn't care for the neighborhood,
so we now live in Camas (love it) decided to make it permanent,
plates and all. I never was or felt targeted.
In fact the whole everyone hates Californians seems ridiculous.
Welcome to Washington.

[StealthRabbit]

I think you can get some sort of an exemption for part-time resident. I know the WA DOL told me I could do this on my WA car that is temporarily living in another state. (even longer than a year).

I would call a state DOL office (not a 'sub-agent') and explain the situation to verify your legal responsibilities and obligations. I would definitely not go transfer everything if you were on a temporary assignment, or had another reason to be a part-time resident. If you are going to declare WA residency for tax or school reasons, then you best get stuff transfered. It can be very expensive, time consuming, and unnecessary to transfer everything. You might want to get a WA ID (@ DOL) for emergency contact and ID. As a First Responder, it can be a real hassle to scrape someone off the pavement and not have the correct ID to get immediate medical info. Timeliness of info can determine whether you camp out in an oxygen tent the rest of your life.

[supagyrl88]

Thanks for the responses everyone. We figure that it's just temporary so I assume if we just drive safe and have no problems with the police then we'll be fine. I truly do not mind transferring everything if I were to stay for longer but since my husband's job is as a contractor and who know if we'll be there for 3 months or a year, I'd rather not. We have two vehicles that we just paid registration for here in California and things are pretty expensive. We definitely are not going to be going to school there or using any kind of public assistance. I was thinking that I might just get a driver's license but I really don't want to give up my California one.

Everyone's been telling me to hold off on everything until we really figure out how long we'll be there. The WA DOL told me that if it's 6 months or under then I don't need to do anything. Hopefully that works out. Thanks again! I look foward to taking my extended "vacation" there!!!

[pilgrimsurfer]

One thing I don't understand about the WA DMV is that they allow people with Washington Driver's License's to renew their license up to five years if they are living out of state, but they only allow people with an out of state license thirty days to renew their driver's license. That seems a little unfair and inconsistent doesn't it? As long as your driver's license isn't expired and is valid it shouldn't matter what state it's from. What about people who travel or live in more than one state? Last time I checked we're supposed to be the United States but the Gov. is trying to divide them in my opinion. I just can't see getting a new driver's license since mine doesn't expire for another two years. My opinion.

[MRJenkins9]

i believe that whether you have to get a new driver's license in any state depends on whether you have changed residency to that state or not. If you are a resident of one state, your driver's license from that state is valid in all other US states (reciprocal licensing). As long as you haven't had your right to drive suspended or revoked in a state, you can drive in that state using your license from your state of residence. However, if you have changed your state of residence, the states with which I am familiar all of rules giving you somewhere from 30 to 90 days to get re-licensed, re-title/re-register vehicles, etc. in your new state of residence. Residency also comes into play for determining the payment of state taxes, so its good to understand the rules.

Your state of residence is generally determined by where you live (i.e., your address). It gets tricky if you are a college student living out of state, or if you own property and live in two or more states throughout the year. To the best of my knowledge only one state gets to claim you as a resident, although in some states you are expected to pay taxes to that state if you work there, even if you are not a resident. Each state has rules about residency, as does the federal government (mostly connected to paying taxes, obtaining licenses, registering vehicles, and other such stuff). It pays to understand theses rules, especially when it comes to paying taxes, voting, registering vehicles, and maintaining that all important piece of ID known as your driver's license.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I think you can get some sort of an exemption for part-time resident. I know the WA DOL told me I could do this on my WA car that is temporarily living in another state. (even longer than a year).

I would call a state DOL office (not a 'sub-agent') and explain the situation to verify your legal responsibilities and obligations. I would definitely not go transfer everything if you were on a temporary assignment, or had another reason to be a part-time resident. If you are going to declare WA residency for tax or school reasons, then you best get stuff transfered. It can be very expensive, time consuming, and unnecessary to transfer everything. You might want to get a WA ID (@ DOL) for emergency contact and ID. As a First Responder, it can be a real hassle to scrape someone off the pavement and not have the correct ID to get immediate medical info. Timeliness of info can determine whether you camp out in an oxygen tent the rest of your life.

I agree. However, I think the only way to be exempt from the 30-day rule is to prove you are in the military or are a full-time college student. Don't quote me on that, though.